-Elara Voss:
I sprawled across one of the long library tables, my arms folded under my chin as I stared at the towering bookshelves ahead of me. The castle had been exciting at first, mysterious, and filled with things to explore. But now? Now it felt like a cage.
Two weeks. Two whole weeks of being trapped in here.
I sighed and rolled onto my back, staring up at the chandelier above. The flickering candlelight cast dancing shadows across the ceiling, but even that had lost its charm. I had never been in one place for this long, not without some kind of change—running, hiding, moving constantly to survive. And now I was stuck here, waiting.
Sure, training with Ronan helped kill time. Sparring with him gave me something to focus on, something to improve. But even that wasn't enough. There was only so much you could do when your entire world was reduced to a castle hidden by magic, a castle you couldn't leave.
